1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a safety contact mat, which has an upper and a lower mat half with two opposing conductive layers spaced some distance apart, which are to be brought into contact to close an electrical contact.
2. Description of the Related Art
Safety contact mats are well known and reliable. They are regularly used for the protection of output areas of machinery or similar hazardous areas that must not be walked on or driven on by persons or vehicles, etc., for safety reasons. Under a weight load, a safety contact mat of this type will, for example, close an electrical circuit, by which an emergency stop of the machinery is effected to prevent injury or damage.
To this end, safety contact mats of this type are constructed of several layers, with a bottom layer, a first conductive circuit layer applied above it, and then a second conductive circuit layer, and above that a nonconductive running layer, which is usually textured.
To meet the safety requirements, a safety contact mat must have a high degree of circuit reliability, which in practice is usually ensured by high design expense and the use of high-grade materials.
In addition to the production of safety contact mats with standard dimensions, customers often require custom manufacturing, which is associated with higher costs, since even a safety contact mat with special dimensions must be constructed at the factory.